A series that went for 26 years and is one of the first anime I ever saw, Oh My Goddess. The anime, although now out of print and near impossible to find the first season saddens me despite the second season still having a license. However, luckily Darkhouse Comics still holds the license for the manga and is rereleasing the series in omnibus form with each one having 3 volumes. Thus giving me the ability to read one of my favorite romance anime in its source and give me a means to see what is different and what the anime was unable to cover.
The first omnibus as mentioned has the first three volumes, which covers the first 23 chapters. The series was, as I mentioned, went for about 26 years, and was monthly. The creator, Kosuke Fujishima, worked on the series for its entirety. Although he has created several manga, he is more well-known for being the character designer of the Tales of game franchise.
The manga begins with Keiichi Morisato, a college sophomore, who accidentally calls a Goddess Help Line. A goddess appears to help him. She is Belldandy, and tells Keiichi she will grant his wish. However, blurting out the first thing that comes to mind, he wishes that Belldandy will stay with him forever. They eventually move into a Buddhist Temp, and get used to living with one another. Although Belldandy’s sisters show up and add to the hijinks. The two slowly start to develop feelings for one another.
The series, as mentioned is a romance, however it is mostly a comedy at times too. Although the first three volumes cover the first 23 chapters, there is no real plot other than seeing Keiichi and Belldandy’s relationship growing. Although both end up unintentionally and against either wills to be with one another, the relationship stays pure and mutual. There is no real drama between them, the idea of kissing or even telling the other one’s feelings become a struggle. This is fairly what most of the series is like in both the anime and manga.However, this works well for the series, despite the fact there is at least in the early chapters no real sign of an over arcing plot.
Of course reading the manga, there are plenty of the early moments that were left out in the anime. There were also more attempts by other side characters of trying to separate Belldandy and Keiichi. This still does not change the fact that the real plot of the series is the development of Belldandy and Keiichi’s relationship. There are magical mishaps, and although Belldandy’s second sister does not appear in this volume, her older half-sister does, which her role really helps not only cause issues but also attempts to being Belldandy and Keiichi’s relationship closer.
The art is rather nice. The detail between the characters, and Belldandy’s outfit is rather nice. It is also nice to see the change in design in just one omnibus volume. Although done slowly, it is still done where there really feels like there is no major change. Each character is drawn unique too, to even have memorable faces for even side characters. Where some series you could look at the protagonist and well, he has similar features to other protagonists. Keiichi is sort of like this, however it is mostly the other characters that do not suffer from this fact.
If you managed to see the anime or just a fan of sweet romantic comedies, this series is certainly worth a read. The art is still the same as it was when it first came out. But the omnibus edition shows off the color pages every now and again, which add a rather nice touch. Overall how it is put together the pages are not flimsy like some longer books. This is a rather nice note how it was made in mind of an omnibus and to hold together versus a normal manga volume, which would not hold together well in omnibus form.
Although I do not have the other single volumes I have no means to compare. However, I do remember most of the chapters not being adapted into the anime, from what I vaguely remember from almost five years ago.
Either way it is enjoyable, the plot although nothing deeper than what it first to be, fits well with the series pacing and characters.
Scores
- Characters: B
- Art: B
- Plot: C+
- Overall Score: B-
Personal Enjoyment: A
Reason:
This is partial due to nostalgia. But at the same time I do not think it is at all. I do not remember much from the anime, despite labeling it as one of my favorites, I did end up dropping it for a few months before deciding to contniue.
The manga as it self I really did enjoy. Although I got it from the memory of loving the anime. I certainly love it on its own. There is more to enjoy and more to see than the anime was able to give. I still wish the anime did get another season to cover more of the manga, since the first season only covers about the first two Omnibus volumes. So I could guess the second season only really covers about 12 volumes of 48. It certainly has a nice start and I can easily see myself enjoying this series without seeing the anime the same as much as I enjoy it now.
As always feel free to give your thoughts on the series, or if you have an idea for a series like this one.
As always I hope you enjoyed.
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Again, I hope you enjoyed and see you next time.
– Joe
The Reviewer's Corner 
November 12, 2016 at 1:13 pm
I must admit, I’ve never read the manga. I picked up the anime on a whim when I saw both seasons and the movie in a second hand shop, and loved them.
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November 12, 2016 at 1:53 pm
Yeah the manga is a lot like the anime, but as I said the anime did leave stuff out. I really do wish the anime covered more since it came out in 2005-2008 I believe. So they already had 20 years worth of material to work with. But oh well. If you really enjoyed the anime, the manga is certainly worth checking out at some point.
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